England intend to end their tour of South Africa with a bang with recalled
flanker James Haskell pledging to put the Springboks “in the washing
machine” in Saturday’s third Test in Port Elizabeth.

Haskell is one of six changes to the side who lost the series-deciding second Test in Johannesburg last week as head coach Stuart Lancaster looks to spice up his attack and add much-needed drive to his forward pack.

Haskell, who has played regularly against South African sides for his Super 15 side, the Otago Highlanders, believes that you have take the initiative away from the opposition. England missed 37 tackles at Ellis Park, a heinous tally of failure.

“You can get in a bit of a fog, get a drowning feeling against South Africa teams, something like being in a washing machine,” said Haskell, who makes his first England appearance since the World Cup. “You want to put the opposition in there and not get put in yourself. You’ve got to get stuck in but you’ve also got to be clever.”

It is even longer since Harlequins’ scrum-half Danny Care donned an England shirt in a Test, a foot injury sustained last August ruling him out of the World Cup while drink-related indiscretions forced Lancaster to throw him out of the Six Nations squad. “We’ve got nothing to lose, so we’ve got to throw everything at them,” said Care.

Lancaster rejected the notion that the final Test was irrelevant. This week, he asked wing Ugo Monye and Bath hooker Lee Mears to address the squad, both of whom had been on the Lions tour to South Africa in 2009, a trip that was rounded off with a morale-boosting win in the final match even though the series was lost 2-1. “I don’t understand the term ‘dead rubber,’ there’s no such thing in international sport,” he said.

There are three other changes in the pack, Alex Corbisiero replacing Joe Marler, Tom Palmer coming into the second row for Mourtiz Botha, while No 8 Ben Morgan makes way for Thomas Waldrom. Saracens full-back, Alex Goode, gets his first international start.